Imprisoned Spy and His Son Indicted on Charges of Actingas Russian Agents and Money Laundering

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “WASHINGTON -- A federal indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon charging Harold James Nicholson, 58, of Sheridan, Ore., and Nathaniel James Nicholson, 24, of Eugene, Ore., with two counts of Conspiracy, one count of Acting as Agents of a Foreign Government, and four counts of Money Laundering. Both defendants are scheduled to appear today at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Janice M. Stewart for arraignment on the indictment. The maximum penalty for the substantive charge of acting as an agent of a foreign government is ten years imprisonment, while the maximum penalty for conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government is five years imprisonment. Each money laundering count, including the money laundering conspiracy, carries a maximum of twenty years imprisonment. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of funds provided to Nathaniel J. Nicholson by the Russian Federation, which the indictment alleges are the proceeds of his father’s past espionage activities. As set forth in the indictment, Harold J. Nicholson, a former CIA employee, is serving a 283-month (more than 23-year) sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Ore., for a 1997 conviction of conspiracy to commit espionage. The indictment further alleges that defendant Harold J. Nicholson, working through his son Nathaniel J. Nicholson, received cash proceeds of his past espionage activities from, and passed information to, agents of the Russian Federation between 2006 and 2008. As described in the indictment, during the course of the conspiracy, Nathanie”